Premier League

Southampton: Some Saints fans want Yan Valery to start instead of Cedric Soares as soon as possible

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Image for Southampton: Some Saints fans want Yan Valery to start instead of Cedric Soares as soon as possible

Some Southampton fans are desperate to see French right-back Yan Valery start for the club ahead of Portuguese defender Cedric Soares.

The 20-year-old Frenchman did not play for the Saints in their recent 2-1 loss to Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United. It was Cedric who got a start for himself in the right-back position (BBC).

Southampton fans: Cedric or Valery?

Cedric, for me

Cedric, for me

Valery deserves it

Valery deserves it

While Danny Ings did score first for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men, Newcastle fought back in the second half. Jonjo Shelvey scored his third goal in a row, while Federico Fernandez got all three points for the Magpies late in the game.

Some Saints fans are now desperate to see Valery start soon, owing to their disappointment with Cedric.

So far this season, Cedric has played ten times in all competitions for the Saints. He has one assist to his name and that came in the club’s 4-0 win over Portsmouth in the League Cup.

Valery, on the other hand, has played eight times in the Premier League and has also played once in the Championship. He is yet to score or assist, but the Frenchman has played 649 minutes of first-team football.


Valery’s last start for the club came in Southampton’s 2-1 loss to Manchester City in early November. Last season, he was a regular in the right-back position. Cedric was loaned out to Inter, allowing Valery to play 23 times in the Premier League.

He had a tally of two goals and a single assist for the club. The two goals that he scored came against Manchester United and Tottenham towards the end of the season.

What do we think?

Cedric gets dribbled past 1.3 times per game, while Valery gets dribbled past only 0.7 times per game. WhoScored stats say that Cedric does make 2.3 tackles per game and 1.3 interceptions per game – more than Valery.

It shows that both of them are somewhat at the same pedestal while defending. With Cedric’s deal at St.Mary’s running out at the end of the season, Southampton should rotate between the two and give Valery some game-time, allowing him to mature and get a first-team spot once Cedric leaves in the summer.

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European Football Writer. Contributed for FootballItalia, Manchester United, Manchester Evening News, Calciomercato, GFFN and more.